Wall tile fastening



July 10, 1934. w, NELSON 1,966,041

WALL TILE FASTENING Filed Dec. 2, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l hZ/6flf (Znci'rew ZU fyel on July 10, 1934. A: w, NELSON 1,966,041

WALL TILE FASTENING Filed Dec. 2, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 GHQ r611) ZZZ Di /5022,

July 10, 1934. w, NELSON 1,966,041

WALL TILE FASTENING Filed Dec. 2, 1932, 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Y fnz/erzz ar (Zita raw ZU NcZJan Patented July 10, 1934 WALL TILE FASTENING Andrew W. Nelson, Terre Haute, Ind., assignor to Columbian Enameling & Stamping 00., Terre Haute, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application December 2, 1932, Serial No. 645,448

14 Claims.

My invention relates to wall tile fastening and more particularly to certain combinations between a wall tile, a supporting structure, and fastening means whereby the tile may be securely mounted in place and may also have sufficient adjustment to take care of minor errors in the spacing.

One of the difliculties encountered in mounting tile upon a wall lies in the fixed shape of the tile as compared to the fixed size of the wall; that is, when approaching a corner with the tile, the one who is laying the tile very often will find that there is not room for tile of any width he has on hand, and to go to a smaller width would leave a wide space. Where the tile are set in a cement or mortar base, these spaces may be taken up over a number of tile so that the extra distance between tile will not be noticeable when the wall is finished.

The present invention makes it possible to accomplish the same result with tile that are held in place b securing members fastened to the backing or supporting structure and with which the tile engage. This invention is particularly applicable to the thin tile member of sheet material such for example as sheet metal tile having a porcelain enamel or other hard finished surface.

It is also a purpose of this invention to provide wall tiling and mounting means therefor that fixedly secures each tile in place and yet permits ready repair of any wall section covered with the sheet tile and the replacement of any damaged tile without the removal of other undamaged tile.

It is also a purpose of this invention to provide tiling and a mounting therefor which will have provision for cement or grouting to be placed between the tile elements in such fashion as to provide a better bond than has heretofore been used.

Further, it is a purpose of this invention to provides. mounting means and tiling which permits the use interchangeably of various shapes and which does not limit the shape of the tile to the usual rectangular formation. Y

I will describe the preferred form of my invention by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein- Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the manner of mounting the tiling;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a tile element; I

Fig. 5 is afront view of the wall section showing a slightly modified form of fastening means;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of. the fastening means used in Fig. 5;

Figs. '7 and 8 are views showing one wall in elevation and the adjacent wall in section and illustrating the application of difierent shapes of tile to a wall, the grouting being left out for the sake of clearness;'

Fig. 9 is a vertical section showing a further form of fastening means holding the tile; and

Fig. 10 is a perspective of the fastening means used in Fig. 9.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the supporting structure is usually made up of the ordinary building wall and includes a backing such as indicated at 10 although it will be evident as the description proceeds that the present invention is also applicable to a supporting structure wherein the studding 11 forms the means for mounting thesecuring devices for the tile.

The tile are indicated generally by the numeral 12 and are substantially of the structure shown in Fig. 4, although the shape may be varied as indicated by Figs. '7 and 8. These tile, as shown, are made of sheet material such as sheet metal and have a downturned peripheral rim portion 13 so that no sharp edges are exposed at the outer surface of the tile. This downturned rim portion 13 may have the spacing or guide extensions such as indicated at 14 and 15 which, where a sheet backing is used, are adapted to rest against the backing when the tile is mounted in place. The extensions 14 and 15 may be notched or cut away as indicated at 16, 17, and 18 to permit the cement or grouting placed between the tile to make a better bond with the tile mem bers. At two opposite side edges of the tile, however, there are provided the lateral extensions 19 and 20, the extension 19 being turned inward, and the extension 20 being turned outward so that they both extend in the same general direction. These extensions are spaced away from the front surface of the tile as indicated clearly in Fig. 2 in such fashion that, when the upper extension 19 and the lower extension 20 of two adjacent tile are placed in overlapping relation, the surfaces of the tile will be substantially aligned. At each of the corners of the tile the rim portion is cut away as indicated at 21 so that the grouting at the corners may spread under the tile and thus insure a good bond and also prevent the contraction and expansion of the tile from forcing the grouting out.

The means for securing the tile upon the supporting structure preferably consists of horizon-- tally running hook members such as are indicated at 22 and 23 in Fig. 1, and 24 in Figs. 5 and G. The distinction between the types shown is that in Fig. 1 the members 22 and 23 are continuous strips having the lower edge bent out and up as at 25 to form a hook while, in the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the members are not continuous but are individual hook elements 24 having the upturned portions 26. These elements 24 are arranged in horizontal rows and spaced apart preferably so that each tile will engage at least two :5 hook on to these members in the manner shown in Fig. 9.

The manner of assembling the tile upon the supporting structure is generally as follows:

First the securing members such as 22, 23, or 24 are nailed or otherwise secured to the backing 10 (see particularly Figs. 2 and 3), the vertical spacing of the rows being say a little more than an eighth of an inch greater than the vertical depth of the tile where uniform rectangular tile are being used. With the securing devices mounted, the wall is started from the bottom, and the lowermost tile will have its top edge hooked over one of the hook members 23 as indicated at the bottom of Fig. 2. The next row of tile above then has the bottom extension 20 of each tile stuck in behind the top extension 19 of the lower tile; the top edge of the tile is then moved against the wall while the tile is being pushed downwardly so as to bring its top extension 19 into the hook of the securing member next above. The next row of tile above this is mounted in the same fashion, and the spaces between the tile filled in with the cement as indicated at 27 in a well-known manner. Owing to the cut out corners 21 of the tile and the cut-away portions 16, 1'7, and 18 as well as the openings 28, the cement is worked in beneath the tile at the corners and along the side edges in such a fashion as to form a very good bond with the tile.

Now, it may be that in approaching a corner it will be found impossible to match the tile to the distance without leaving a gap say of half an inch or moreaccording to the regular spacing of the tile. The tile, however, are horizontally adjustable upon the securing members, and, in Fig. l, I have indicated generally how this difficulty can be obviated. Let us assume that if the title were laid with the usual spacing of around one-eighth of an inch or a little more, the space between the corner member 28 and the next adjacent tile 29 would be one-half inch. In order to remedy this, the tile 29 would be moved over toward the corner member 28 so as to leave a space of say threesixteenths of an inch. The next tile 30 would then be moved over toward the tile 29 so as to leave a similar spacing, and tiles 31, 32, etc. could be similarly adjusted so that the spacing between the tile would be so nearly the uniform spacing used in the wall as not to be noticeable and yet the half inch extra. space would be used up. In the same way, the extensions 19 and 20 are long enough to allow for a certain amount of adjustment vertically so that it is not necessary to set the members 22, 23 with absolute accuracy. The extension 20 is, of course, longer than the extension 19 so as to allow for vertical spacing of the tile. If it is desired that one tile rest solidly on top of the next one below, then the length of the extension 20 would be reduced to allow for this.

Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8, it will be noted that in one case tile of hexagon shape are secured in the same fashion as the rectangular tile shown in Figs. 1 to 6. The only necessary change over the standard rectangular construction to allow for this is the proper spacing of the securing members such as 22 and 23 so that for each tile there is a horizontally running securing member at the top and at the bottom and across the center thereof, the'top and bottom side edges of the tile being provided with the usual extension and each individual tile being secured only at the top and bottom. Where the individual hook elements are used, they, of course, can be placed upon the backing member by a template structure so that there will be no hook or securing members beneath the center of the tile. In the other figure, I have shown the combination using a square tile and half tile and quarter tile or half and quarter tile may be used interchangeably. In this case, again, the securing members 22, 23, etc., are so spaced that a vertically running half tile for example would pass over one securing member, the notches 18 thereof allowing the securing member to pass where the horizontal strip type of securing member is used.

From the above description, it is believed that the construction and advantages of this device will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art. It is also believed to be obvious that various modifications may be made from the exact details shown and described without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what 1. claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A sheet metal tile for wall surfacing polygo-- nal in shape and having a downturned rim portion which rim portion has on two opposite edges extensions running substantially parallel to the face of the tile, said extensions both running in the same direction so that one lies beneath the tile and the other projects from the side thereof, said rim portion being longer intermediate the corners than adjacent the corners.

2. A sheet metal tile for wall surfacing polygonal in shape and having a downturned rim portion which rim portion has on two opposite edges extensions running substantially parallel to the face of the tile, said extensions both running in the same direction so that one lies beneath the tile and the other projects from the side thereof, the projecting extension being longer than the other extension.

3. A sheet metal tile for-wall surfacing polygonal in shape and having a downturned rim portion which rim portion has on two opposite edges extensions running substantially parallel to the face of the tile, said extensions both running in the same direction so that one lies beneath the tile and the other projects from the side thereof, the projecting extension being longer than the other extension, and the projecting extension being spaced farther from the tile face than the other extension.

4. Means for surfacing walls and the like comprising mounting members adapted to be mounted on the wall, said members providing vertically spaced tile supporting hook elements extending outwardly and upwardly from the wall, and sheettile members having down-turned peripheral rims, two opposing sides of the tile rim having lateral extensions, the extension of one side projecting inwardly from the rim and the extension of the opposing side projecting outwardly from the rim, thelast named extension being longer than the first named extension, all of said extensions being hooked over said hook elements.

5. Means for surfacing walls and the like comprising mounting members adapted to be mounted on the wall, said members providing vertically spaced tile supporting hook elements ex-'' tending outwardly and upwardly from the wall, and tile members having down-turned peripheral rims, two Opposing sides of the tile rim having lateral extensions, the extension of one side projecting inwardly from the rim and the extension of the opposing side projecting outwardly from the rim, the last named extension being spaced farther from its tile face than the first named extension and overlapping behind the inwardly projecting extension of the adjacent tile member, all of said extensions being hooked over said hook elements.

6. Means for surfacing walls and the like comprising mounting members adapted to be mounted on the wall, said members providing vertically spaced tile supporting hook elements extending outwardly and upwardly from the wall, and sheet-tile members having down-turned peripheral rims, two opposing sides of the tile rim having lateral extensions, the extension of one side projecting inwardly from the rim and the extension of the opposing side projecting outwardly from the rim, the last named extension being longer than thefirst named extension, all of said extensions being hooked over said hook elements, the last named extension being spaced farther from its tile face than the first named extension and overlapping behind the inwardly projecting extension of the adjacent tile member.

7. Means for surfacing walls and the like comprising mounting members adapted to be mounted on the wall, said members providing vertically spaced tile supporting hook elements extending outwardly and upwardly from the wall, and sheet tile members having down-turned peripheral rims, and cooperating means on the tile rims for holding the tile on said elements, said tile members having the rims cut back at spaced points around the periphery thereof to provide space for grouting between the tile rim and the supporting structure.

8. Means for surfacing walls and the like comprising mounting members adapted to be mounted on the wall, said members providing vertically spaced tile supporting hook elements extending outwardly and upwardly from the wall, and sheet tile members having down-turned peripheral rims, and cooperating means on the tile rims for holding the tile on said elements, said tile members having the rims cut back at the corners to provide space for grouting between the tile rim and the supporting structure, said tile rims having elongated spacer portions adapted to rest against the supporting structure.

9. Means for surfacing walls and the like comprising mounting members adapted to be mounted on the wall, said members providing vertically spaced tile supporting hook elements extending outwardly and upwardly from the wall, and polygonal sheet tile members provided with laterally extending rims and each tile member having on the rim thereof top and bottom extensions projecting downward from said rim, all of said extensions being hooked over said hook elements, the lower extension of one tile overlapping the upper extension of the adjacent tile next below it.

10. Means for surfacing walls and the like comprising mounting members adapted to be mounted on the, wall, said members providing vertically spaced tile supporting hook elements extending outwardly and upwardly from the wall, and polygonal sheet tile members provided with laterally extending rims and each tile member having on the rim thereof top and bottom extensions projecting downward from said rim, all of said extensions being hooked over said hook elements, the lower extension of one tile overlapping the upper extension of the adjacent tile next below it, said hook elements being arranged in horizontal rows spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the vertical length of the smallest tile face.

11. Means for surfacing walls and the like comprising mounting members adapted to be mount ed on the wall, said members providing vertically spaced tile supporting hook elements extending outwardly and upwardly from the wall, and polygonal sheet tile members provided with laterally extending rims and each tile member having on the rim thereof top and bottom extensions projecting downward from said rim, all of said extensions being hooked over said hook elements, the lower extension of one tile overlapping the upper extension of the adjacent tile next below it, said tile members being rectangular in shape and the surfacing being made up of three sizes of tile members, the smallest of which is Substantially one-fourth the size of the largest tile member, and the intermediate size being substantially one-half the size of the largest tile member.

12. Means for surfacing walls and the like comprising mounting members adapted to be mounted on the wall, said members providing vertically spaced tile supporting hook elements extending outwardly and upwardly from the wall, and polygonal sheet tile members provided with laterally extending rims and each tile member having on the rim thereof top and bottom extensions projecting downward from said rim, all of said extensions being hooked over said hookelements, the lower extension of one tile overlapping the upper extension of the adjacent tile next below it, said hook elements being arranged in horizontal rows spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the vertical length of the smallest tile face, the rims of said tile members being shortened at the corners to provide space for cement between the rim and the supporting structure.

13. Means for surfacing walls and the like comprising mounting members adapted to be mounted on the wall, said members providing vertically spaced tile supporting hook elements extending outwardly and upwardly from the wall, and polygonal sheet tile members provided with laterally extending rims and each tile member having on the rim thereof top and bottom extensions projecting downward from said rim, all of said extensions being hooked over said hook elements, the lower extension of one tile overlapping the upper extension of the adjacent tile next below it, said hook elements being arranged in horizontal rows spaced vertically a distance substantially half the vertical length of a tile member.

14. Means for surfacing walls and the like com.- prising mounting members adapted to be mounted on the wall, said members providing vertically:

elements.

ANDREW W. NELSON. 

